Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and a configuration for monitoring a communications link in a mobile radio system, in particular in a satellite-based mobile radio system.
In terrestrial mobile radio systems, such as the GSM mobile radio system (Global System for Mobile Communications), methods and configurations are known, through the use of which it is possible to monitor and record information transmitted via communications links. Since the network structure is configured on a national basis, and the mobile radio networks are thus separated, every nation has legal rights so that, for example, a French subscriber may be monitored only in the French mobile radio system. However, it is not possible to use this method to distinguish between monitoring authorizations based on regions of a country.
In the future, when satellite-based mobile radio systems are built, such as IRIDIUM, as is known for instance from the article by J. Huber "Zukunftsmarkt satellitengestutzte Mobilkommunikation", telcom report 17 (1994) [Future market for satellite-based mobile communication] Issue 5, pages 180 to 183, no direct guarantee of the legal rights of the individual nations will be possible either, since, for example, there will be only one satellite mobile switching center for all subscribers in Central Europe. This satellite mobile switching center will be used to switch the communications links of all those subscribers who are located in the area covered by one or more satellites, which are connected by radio to the satellite mobile switching center via an earth terminal controller, and/or to produce the interface to further terrestrial fixed networks or mobile radio networks.